| Good morning. It's Tuesday, Jan. 4, and the final season of "This Is Us" premieres tonight on NBC (grab your tissues). Here's what else to know today: | | | | More than 103,000 Americans are hospitalized with covid-19. - That's the highest number since late summer, when there was a surge of delta variant cases, but still below last winter's peak.
- Why it's significant: Hospitalizations (rather than cases, which are still skyrocketing) are the best way to track the pandemic now, experts say, because vaccines are preventing severe illnesses.
- What else to know: The FDA cleared boosters for 12-to-15-year-olds yesterday, and final CDC approval could come by tomorrow.
| | | | The founder of Theranos was found guilty of fraud. - A jury convicted Elizabeth Holmes, who led the Silicon Valley blood-testing startup, on four counts. She was found not guilty on four counts, and the jury deadlocked on three others.
- What the verdict means: The jury agreed that Holmes knowingly misled investors about her company's technology, which didn't work as promised.
- What's next: The 37-year-old could get up to 20 years in prison for each count.
| | | | Schools are pushing ahead with in-person classes this week. - Only one of the nation's 20 largest districts has moved to remote learning, even with record coronavirus cases.
- Why? There's widespread agreement that in-person learning is better for kids, both academically and emotionally.
- How are schools handling cases? Many are ramping up testing requirements, with some pushing back the start of the semester to make sure everyone gets one.
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- Hundreds of thousands still don't have power, at least three people died in a storm-related crash, and major traffic delays continued this morning.
- What's next? It's going to get very cold, from the East Coast all the way down to the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana.
| | | | A little girl last seen in 2019 was just reported missing. - What we know: Not at lot. Seven-year-old Harmony Montgomery disappeared from a home in southern New Hampshire over two years ago, but police found out about it only last week.
- Officials are launching a search and are asking for any information. Harmony is White, about 4 feet tall and 50 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes and glasses.
| | | | The classic BlackBerry phone will stop working today. - Why? Cellphone carriers are shutting down support for older 3G networks this year to make way for 5G, and BlackBerry is cutting off support for devices on its original operating systems.
- This is just the beginning: The "3G sunset" will impact older iPhones this year, too, as well as some smart devices, like security systems and fire alarms.
| | | | David Bowie's estate sold his songwriting catalogue. - The buyer: Warner Music Group, an industry giant, which paid around $250 million, according to one report.
- Music copyrights have become big business (think of the streaming, film and commercial potential), and this deal covers the star's studio albums and more, including songs like "Starman."
You're all caught up. See you tomorrow. But before you go … looking for your next read? We've got some suggestions based on the books you loved in 2021.  (Jordan Robertson for The Post) | Do you know someone who would like this newsletter? Share it with them. Prefer push notifications? Download The Post's app to get one when The 7 publishes. | | | |
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